HYATT HOTEL – A CASE STUDY

NISHANTH C – 102118042
MONEESH B – 102118038
PRANAV REDDY ERIKI – 102118046
DINAKAR DM – 102118018
SUDHARSHAN KANNAPADI – 102118063
SABA ANJUM - 110118070
Index

1. Analysis of the action plan of Hyatt Hotels

a. In- Depth Training Program - Sudharshan and Pranav
b. Caring Fund for Employees – Saba and Sudharshan
c. Diversity Inclusion Intiatives – Pranav and Nishanth

2. Designing a similar firm

Background and Assumptions – Nishanth and Sudharshan

a. ‘Day of Delight’ Nishanth

b. Anonymous Feedback Saba
c. Talent Scouting Pranav
d. Benefits and Perks Moneesh
e. General engagement boosting activities Dinakar
f. A Volunteer Scheme Sudharshan
g. Gamify performance to improve team bonding Nishanth
 Case Study- Hyatt Hotels:

1. Analysis of the action plan of Hyatt Hotels to ensure high level of retention.

• In-depth Training Program:

The first analysis we need to do is the relationship between a training program and
employee engagement. When employees are in training, they feel that the employers
are interested in helping them develop themselves. They get the feeling of value as
employees feel important and think they can do the job. So, in-depth training leads to
employee retention. However, this may not be enough to retain employees, and they
should be supported when they are putting what they have learnt to test on the job.

An In-depth training program essentially fills up the gaps in the skillset currently present
for the employee. The training program is very exhaustive will also help in the career
progression in the organization as it will promote their individual growth. Hyatt's
emphasis on these aspects makes it a very pro-employee organization. It will also help
Hyatt pass on the organization to able hands nurtured from the roots through their
training programs with the Hyatt values instilled in them.

Training helps the employee to get job security and job satisfaction. The more satisfied
the employee is and the greater is his morale, the more he will contribute to
organizational success.

Also, when executed correctly, orientation, socialization activities, and training

programs have shown that they promote employee well-being and organizational
stability. These aspects are also evident from the industry's low attrition rate for Hyatt
and its employee survey responses.

• Caring Fund for Employees suddenly facing emergency situations:

The core idea behind employee retention is for employers to show that they care about
the employees. One of the methods we can offer is through this Caring Fund, as it
shows the employees that the employers treat them as a family.

The Hyatt Care Fund has benefitted a significant portion of its employees in challenging
times like Covid-19. Initially, grants will be prioritized to the colleagues who are
currently working zero hours and are not eligible for government assistance. Grants will
provide commission for needs ranging from rent payments to groceries or child care
assistance to utilities and other monthly expenses. This way, it shows that Hyatt makes
a conscious effort to take care of their employees.
 This was proven not only in the case of Hyatt, but also by the Sri Lankan Cricket team
in the 2000s, where they had set aside the money a player got for being the man of the
match into a team accessible emergency fund. This helped them feel like a part of a
family and had improved the unity in the team, and hence helped in performance.

• Diversity Inclusion Initiatives:

Many employees might feel out of place at their workplace due to their different
cultures, races, interests and pasts. A great way to make the employees feel at home is
through groups through socialization initiatives, making adapting to their life at the
organization easier. Such initiatives will also make the employees feel that they are
accepted and valued for who they are at their place of work resulting in greater work
satisfaction which leads to better efficiency at their job. Hyatt’s focus on such activities
has boosted their employee retention and the morale of the employees working for
them- many employees are “Proud” to say that they work for Hyatt.

A company does not simply expand into over 50 countries and employ more than
100,000 people while maintaining strong employee loyalty without being committed
to employee diversity. Hyatt does not just parrot talking points about diversity; they
act. As a result, the company has earned awards such as the Human Rights Campaign
Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality, recognized by the AARP for employing older
workers and recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine and the NAACP for their
commitment to hiring people of colour.

By openly committing to diversity in the workplace, Hyatt automatically improves its

transparency and demonstrates that people from all backgrounds are welcome,
significantly improving employee engagement. It is safe to say that an employee
engagement strategy that glosses over employee diversity or does not mention it at all
is an employee engagement strategy that will fall short.

How Businesses Benefit from Diversity?

There are many arguments for fostering diversity in business, including the availability
of talent, enhancing interpersonal innovation, risk avoidance, and appealing to a global
customer base. The business case for diversity is driven by the view that diversity brings
substantial potential benefits, such as better decision making, improved problem
solving, and greater creativity and innovation, which lead to enhanced product
development and more successful marketing to different types of customers.

Innovation: It is widely noted that diverse teams lead to more innovative and practical
ideas and implementations. The logic behind this is relatively simple. Innovative
thinking requires individuals to go outside of the normal paradigms of operation, using
diverse perspectives to reach new and creative thinking. A group of similar individuals
with similar skills is much less likely to stumble across or generate new ideas that lead
to innovation. Similarity can cause groupthink, which diminishes creativity.
 Localization: Some theorize that, in a global marketplace, a company that employs a
diverse workforce is better able to understand the demographics of the various
consumer markets it serves, and is therefore better equipped to thrive in that
marketplace than a company that has a more limited range of employee demographics.
With the emerging markets around the world demonstrating substantial GDP growth,
organizations need local talent to enter the marketplace and to communicate
effectively. Individuals from a particular region will have a deep awareness of the needs
in that region and similar culture, enabling them to add considerable value.

Adaptability: Finally, organizations must be technologically and culturally adaptable in

the modern economy. This is crucial to reacting to competitive dynamics quickly and
staying ahead of industry trends. Diversity fosters creative thinking and improved
decision making through a more profound and more comprehensive worldview. A
company willing to diversify draws from a larger talent pool and hires individuals with
diverse skill sets. The value of this, particularly at the managerial level, is enormous.

2. Based on your understanding, design a similar course of action for a hospitality

firm in India considering the contextual factors. You may choose employee
engagement as the underlying concept on which the course of action is built
upon. Provide specifics of the plan.

• Background and assumptions:

Pluto group of hotels is a fictional 5-star hotel chain with locations in various parts of
India. Our main competition are similar luxury hotel chains like Taj, Radisson etc. The
Pluto group has recently been recognized as one of the best emerging hotel chains in
India and they have recently made it into the prestigious Fortune 500 list. Now, they
feel that they can reach even greater heights by boosting their employee engagement
and have approached us for a plan to do the same. The main assumption in this action
plan is that employee engagement will surely lead to better employee working
conditions, i.e., there are no flaws with employee engagement.

• Below is our proposed plan for the Employee engagement initiatives for The Pluto
Group:

Many executives of different hospitality firms believe in a saying that- ‘we will take care
of our employees and our employees will take care of our customers’. The very basis
for this to happen is employee engagement- Employees should be motivated and
emotionally invested in the work they do.
• Below are the initiatives and plans to execute the same:

a) One such initiative could be a ‘Day of Delight’ whereby employees on their special
occasions (like birthday, work anniversary, etc.) will get to choose any service (eg:
dinner, pool party, etc.) from a range of services in their organization and redeem
them for free. Despite the fact that statistically many people have birthdays
between the months of September to November, this will not hinder the work
considering these perks should be given after their work. This will make the firm a
part of their special day and they will be able to connect more with the firm. All of
us have been excited about wishes and presents on special occasions, ever since
we were a kid. For people employed in a hospitality organization, it would be a treat
to be able to enjoy the services that they strive every day to provide to their
customers with excellence.

Adding to the above point, we could consider an alternative scheme as well-All

employees (and their family if wanted) of the hospitality firm can be given a benefit
of having to visit any of the branches located all around the world at any time once
a year for a span of 4-5 days. This would be treated like a paid holiday for the
employees and would be asked to give their reviews on the particular branch. This
scheme works in two ways: First, it promotes employee engagement as it is a great
way of making sure the employee has a say in improving the business and second,
it gives a holiday for the employee which is very difficult in general as the hospitality
sector has to be working all around the year.

Some things that have to be taken care while implementing this, is the fact that
most of the employees given the choice of when to avail this might be availing it
during their family’s holiday (E.g., Summer and Winter). So, to avoid most of their
employees to avail this during the peak time, they can only be given to a limited
number of people at a time, and they can’t avail it again for at least 2 years (Which
might be something that could happen on its own considering the crowd that would
during the holiday). This method would be successful for the business as it can
rectify some of its mistakes internally.

b) Anonymous feedback: Employees should be provided with an opportunity to give

anonymous feedback to any service of their choice be it about their
peers/customers/superiors. Although feedback has been in use for a long time,
there have been very few instances where suggestions from the feedback were
implemented. Employers should ensure that their suggestions should be
considered and implemented. Once the employees witness any change in the
services they can correlate it with the feedback and they will give feedback
proactively. This makes them feel their voices are being heard and they are
contributing to make the organization better. This will benefit the organization and
boost its employees’ morale.
c) Talent sourcing program: Another way to make the employees feel connected to
the organization is through a meaningful talent sourcing program with a proper
story around it. This will help the organization’s cause in attracting and retaining
the best people. Employees who feel valued from the recruitment stage till the last
day of work at the organization will be actively engaged in the organization.

One such strategy covering all aspects could be:

▪ Recruitment:

Hiring people who would need a job and an uplift in their life significantly can
be a huge motivation to the employees leading to greater efficiency in the
organization. Hiring people from Tier 2-3 cities (E.g. Pilani, Warangal) who are
in need of immediate help to help their household survive could be a great
starting point. The emphasis could be made on the Character of the person
being hired instead of the skills they possess at the time of hiring.

A great training program completely educating them about the nuances of their
job will not only help the organization by gaining a motivated employee but also
help the employee themself to feel empowered. Hiring and training people
from such root levels will help the organization to mould its future managers
and will also allow for bonds to be formed between the employees easily.

Orientation programs and training can be designed with employee engagement

in mind through a buddy system where a new employee could be attached with
a senior employee at the beginning of their tenure which will help them
professionally and personally as well.

d) Benefits and Perks: A great way to boost engagement among the employees is to
run programs that will promote innovative thinking among them. Employees can
be split up into groups and allocated to guests and be told to come up with
customized offerings for the guest. There could be an employee point system
attached to this scheme based on the reviews from the guests.

Some rewards could be:

i. Personalized gift hampers to the employees according to their

preferences
ii. Extra bonuses or paid vacations
iii. Social media recognition/ general recognition
iv. Happy hours for the top groups
e) General engagement boosting activities for existing employees: Employees could
have an in-house competition related to the hospitality aspects and other activities
like sports etc. which could make the employees feel much more satisfied and
happier with their work. Employee birthdays and milestones could also be
celebrated with gestures or small parties.

There could also be a lottery system for the interested employees to shift their
working hotel destination from time to time based on their performance. An
employee points system where points are accumulated based on their loyalty and
commitment to the organization. They could redeem points for extra leaves,
vouchers, etc.

f) A Volunteer Scheme: The employees of a particular branch can be asked to help a

charitable event of their choice, by helping in the overall organization of their event
(E.g. fund-raising schemes) which are usually held in large hotels. They can help in
providing halls, catering, and help in setting up the stage. Such volunteer programs
are vital to employee engagement as it unites the employees for a larger purpose,
and provides an opportunity for employees to connect on a deeper level.

g) Gamify performance to improve team bonding: A friendly competition can go a

long way to boost sales, morale, and employee engagement. We can offer
incentives to different teams for specific goals like upselling, decreasing ticket
times, or selling a unique menu item.

We could be creative with prizes to make the competition worthwhile. We could

offer the winner a concert tickets or a paid day off from work, for example.
Gamifying performance is one creative way to engage employees.

This also helps in creating a bond between the employees. In a recent study of the
restaurant industry by 7shifts, it has been found that three-quarters of restaurant
employees say their colleagues are the best part of working in the industry. When
employees feel they are part of a family, they will be more engaged and look
forward to working with their co-workers. In fact, work friendships increase
employee satisfaction by 50%.
Bibliography:

• https://blog.typsy.com/7-creative-ways-to-engage-hospitality-employees
• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-introductiontobusiness/chapter/diversity-
in-human-resources/
• https://www.hubengage.com/blog/employee-engagement-case-studies-a-look-at-
hyatts-wildly-successful-strategy/
• https://courses.aiu.edu/Certificate/Effective%20Leadership/Human%20Factor%20l/
Leccion%206/HUMAN%20FACTOR%20SEC%206.pdf